Budget allocates more funding for remote airfields

Remote communities will benefit from an additional $9.9 million over the next two years to upgrade airstrips, the federal government announced in its 2013/14 budget.

The additional funding, provided under the ‘Remote Airstrip Upgrade Program’, is for aviation safety upgrades on a co-funding basis and to provide for a higher proportion of funding for works at identified remote indigenous communities.

Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said: “For Australians living in remote communities, the local airstrip is a vital lifeline, providing residents with regular air access for emergency services, essential supplies and connecting them to regional centres.

“Already, more than $50 million has been made available through the program to upgrade 237 remote airstrips, ensuring some of the nation’s most remote communities have access to safe, reliable and regular air services.”

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Applications for funding will open in late May.

The federal government said it has allocated more than $261 million of funding to regional and remote aviation.